Advice on Driving on the WRONG side of the Road in the UK & Ireland - Wolters World
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Date: 2022-02-04
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Comments and reviews: 10
earth
Indeed, driving on the left isn't a big problem in itself. Plenty of Brits take their own cars over to continental Europe and it's not hard going on the other side - I've done it. More of a problem is when you hire a car and it's built the other way round. And not all manual cars are the same on getting reverse - in Fords it's generally push DOWN and move the stick.
Indicating on roundabouts is first indicate the direction you want to go (obviously nothing if you want to go straight on) then left as you pass the exit before the one you want. Obviously if left IS the way you want to go, just indicate left. This logic will work however many exits there are.
And if this whole thing scares you off, public transport in the UK will get you to most places so just use that! Especially do not drive in London as Mark says - you're mad if you do, there is nowhere to park in the centre and you don't want to be paying the congestion charge - yes, there is a toll in central London just to use the roads at all, and this is a continual bone of contention with the US Embassy as the diplomats refuse to pay it. It's not a tax whatever they think, it's a charge for using the road.
Parking machines are different depending on the local council that operates them.
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Indeed, driving on the left isn't a big problem in itself. Plenty of Brits take their own cars over to continental Europe and it's not hard going on the other side - I've done it. More of a problem is when you hire a car and it's built the other way round. And not all manual cars are the same on getting reverse - in Fords it's generally push DOWN and move the stick.
Indicating on roundabouts is first indicate the direction you want to go (obviously nothing if you want to go straight on) then left as you pass the exit before the one you want. Obviously if left IS the way you want to go, just indicate left. This logic will work however many exits there are.
And if this whole thing scares you off, public transport in the UK will get you to most places so just use that! Especially do not drive in London as Mark says - you're mad if you do, there is nowhere to park in the centre and you don't want to be paying the congestion charge - yes, there is a toll in central London just to use the roads at all, and this is a continual bone of contention with the US Embassy as the diplomats refuse to pay it. It's not a tax whatever they think, it's a charge for using the road.
Parking machines are different depending on the local council that operates them.
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Andy
Always best to pre-order a rental vehicle before flying in and ordering automatic if you can't handle 3 pedals. Use a price comparison site rather than going to the big names direct. The main rule on roundabouts is always give way to a vehicle already on the roundabout, so you may have to slow down or stop when entering. If there's nothing coming round from the right, you can drive straight on (at a sensible speed. Leaving is easy and people should be giving way to you. Every parking machine is different. Some, you just money in, get a ticket and display it. Others you pay on exit (after getting a ticket on the way in. You can't really make a video about parking! The really small country lanes have a speed limit of 60mph. But only a moron goes that fast on those roads.
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Always best to pre-order a rental vehicle before flying in and ordering automatic if you can't handle 3 pedals. Use a price comparison site rather than going to the big names direct. The main rule on roundabouts is always give way to a vehicle already on the roundabout, so you may have to slow down or stop when entering. If there's nothing coming round from the right, you can drive straight on (at a sensible speed. Leaving is easy and people should be giving way to you. Every parking machine is different. Some, you just money in, get a ticket and display it. Others you pay on exit (after getting a ticket on the way in. You can't really make a video about parking! The really small country lanes have a speed limit of 60mph. But only a moron goes that fast on those roads.
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Andy
Quite a few things wrong actually.
Emergency vehicles only use their blues when travelling to an emergency and you must yield to them.
Each city has different parking systems do NOT assume that the method of payment will be the same. Some are cash only, some card only and some are cellphone only.
Reverse gear - not all cars have a lift-up collar on the gear stick. Ask the rental agency to show you. They will be happy to do that as it means they are less likely to have to pay for repairs.
You haven't mentioned at all when you must have your vehicle lights on. It's not straightforward. To avoid mistakes, keep them on all the time.
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Quite a few things wrong actually.
Emergency vehicles only use their blues when travelling to an emergency and you must yield to them.
Each city has different parking systems do NOT assume that the method of payment will be the same. Some are cash only, some card only and some are cellphone only.
Reverse gear - not all cars have a lift-up collar on the gear stick. Ask the rental agency to show you. They will be happy to do that as it means they are less likely to have to pay for repairs.
You haven't mentioned at all when you must have your vehicle lights on. It's not straightforward. To avoid mistakes, keep them on all the time.
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Bob
One thing. I'm sure you said get in the right lane to go straight ahead on roundabouts. No. If there are two lanes as you approach the island and you want to go straight ahead stay in the left lane. Otherwise you will be cutting up traffic on your left as you exit. The right lane is normally for turning right only. If there are 3 lanes as you approach the island you often go in the middle land to go straight ahead but it will be clearly marked on the road.
Btw any body else noticed the smart arse comments from people who've seen the title of the video but clearly not actually listened to what Wolter said?
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One thing. I'm sure you said get in the right lane to go straight ahead on roundabouts. No. If there are two lanes as you approach the island and you want to go straight ahead stay in the left lane. Otherwise you will be cutting up traffic on your left as you exit. The right lane is normally for turning right only. If there are 3 lanes as you approach the island you often go in the middle land to go straight ahead but it will be clearly marked on the road.
Btw any body else noticed the smart arse comments from people who've seen the title of the video but clearly not actually listened to what Wolter said?
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Generator
I traveled to Scotland in 2007. Rented a car in the city of Edinburgh. I was nervous about driving on the left side of the road but once I got behind the wheel and followed the car in front of me I was fine.
For me the country roads are the most challenging. They are narrow and the speed limits are quite high compared to the United States for such a narrow width. Plus very curvey.
I did reserve an automatic transmission though, made it easier.
Didn't want to have to shift with my left hand and deal with the sudden change of driving on the opposite side of the road too. Thanks
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I traveled to Scotland in 2007. Rented a car in the city of Edinburgh. I was nervous about driving on the left side of the road but once I got behind the wheel and followed the car in front of me I was fine.
For me the country roads are the most challenging. They are narrow and the speed limits are quite high compared to the United States for such a narrow width. Plus very curvey.
I did reserve an automatic transmission though, made it easier.
Didn't want to have to shift with my left hand and deal with the sudden change of driving on the opposite side of the road too. Thanks
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Tea_and_crumpets
Not bad advices, but the GPS thing isnt really true. Of course dont use google maps for navigation, its rubbish, but download offline GPS app like Sygic and you are covered everywhere you go for your lifetime for pretty much the rental price of a GPS from a car rental. Also roundabouts are everywhere in Europe and they differ slightly in some countries, so be aware of that. And in many cars you actually have to push the gear lever down instead of pulling up the plunger, these things vary a lot by brand and by country
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Not bad advices, but the GPS thing isnt really true. Of course dont use google maps for navigation, its rubbish, but download offline GPS app like Sygic and you are covered everywhere you go for your lifetime for pretty much the rental price of a GPS from a car rental. Also roundabouts are everywhere in Europe and they differ slightly in some countries, so be aware of that. And in many cars you actually have to push the gear lever down instead of pulling up the plunger, these things vary a lot by brand and by country
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Les
A few things I learned on trips to New Zealand. My mantras: easy left, hard right right foot over the (center) line look both ways when a pedestrian crossing a street. Believe it or not, after a week or two of driving on the left you may find it confusing when you return home! U-turns got me on the wrong side of the road more than once - think about it when you turn around. New Zealand is really friendly to those unfamiliar to driving on the left - lots of road markings reminding you to keep left and arrows painted on the road.
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A few things I learned on trips to New Zealand. My mantras: easy left, hard right right foot over the (center) line look both ways when a pedestrian crossing a street. Believe it or not, after a week or two of driving on the left you may find it confusing when you return home! U-turns got me on the wrong side of the road more than once - think about it when you turn around. New Zealand is really friendly to those unfamiliar to driving on the left - lots of road markings reminding you to keep left and arrows painted on the road.
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John
Whilst not strictly a WRONG side of the road story, the other navigational issue was finding motels.
In Australia, motel sides are placed on the motels property. Not so in the U. S. A. Signs are placed near road exits, the physical motel may be a long way away. Simply driving to the sign only ends up confusing you.
The business I rented the motorcycle from in L. A. had the same issue. They drove around for ages before finding the motel.
Just something you have to get used to. :)
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Whilst not strictly a WRONG side of the road story, the other navigational issue was finding motels.
In Australia, motel sides are placed on the motels property. Not so in the U. S. A. Signs are placed near road exits, the physical motel may be a long way away. Simply driving to the sign only ends up confusing you.
The business I rented the motorcycle from in L. A. had the same issue. They drove around for ages before finding the motel.
Just something you have to get used to. :)
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matt18m18
After renting cars in Ireland and Australia, the difficulty is not driving on the left side of the road. It's having the left side of your car several feet away from you, instead of right next to you like it is in the US. When I rented a car in Adelaide, numerous parked cars were at risk, and the video of me driving to Kangaroo Island had my left side tires off the shoulder most of the time. Also, you will hit the curb when turning left.
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After renting cars in Ireland and Australia, the difficulty is not driving on the left side of the road. It's having the left side of your car several feet away from you, instead of right next to you like it is in the US. When I rented a car in Adelaide, numerous parked cars were at risk, and the video of me driving to Kangaroo Island had my left side tires off the shoulder most of the time. Also, you will hit the curb when turning left.
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travel
Yeah, it's been said below but just to reiterate, if any emergency vehicle has their blue lights activated you MUST pull over, regardless of whether their sirens are on or not. Most only activate their sirens if you're failing to move over for their lights. No lights = no emergency so no driver action required. Lights = emergency, legal requirement to move over. Lights and sirens = No difference from just lights.
Hope that helps
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Yeah, it's been said below but just to reiterate, if any emergency vehicle has their blue lights activated you MUST pull over, regardless of whether their sirens are on or not. Most only activate their sirens if you're failing to move over for their lights. No lights = no emergency so no driver action required. Lights = emergency, legal requirement to move over. Lights and sirens = No difference from just lights.
Hope that helps
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